Over the years we have increased the amount of prescription medication we are willing to give our children. More than ever, we will take a trip to the doctor’s office, knowing and even hoping a trip to the pharmacy will follow.

As parents, are we being too vulnerable? Did we outweigh the side effects or consider an alternative to treating our child with a drug? If our children are diagnosed with an infection, a sickness,or a condition, have we looked in to all of our options?

A growing problem known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a relatively common diagnosis that tends to emerge in children during their early school years. In the United States alone, over 4.4 million children are labeled as having ADHD. 3.6 million of those children are treated for this ‘diagnosis’ with a variety of amphetamine drugs. Unfortunately, the medications designed to treat ADHD reside in the same category as cocaine, methadone, opium, and speed.

It is not entirely certain what causes ADHD, but the current thought is that it is a combination of an overactive nervous system, coupled with a decrease in the brain’s ability to filter out extraneous sights, sounds, thoughts and emotions.

The most common signs of ADHD include inattention, hyperactivity, impulsive behavior, and difficulty concentrating. However, one must be careful because just about every healthy child in the world will have the same characteristics.

Solutions Beyond Medication

Although chiropractors don’t directly treat ADHD, there are a number of things that your chiropractor can do to help a child with ADHD. Most importantly, chiropractors adjust the spine to eliminate stress on a child’s nervous system.

Drugs such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Prozac can only treat the symptoms of ADHD by masking the actual problem. They serve no other purpose. They come with an enormous amount of side effects and can not do anything to eliminate the cause of the diagnosis. All of this has sparked a growing cause for concern from parents.

A new level of thinking must be implemented into our daily lives. A chiropractors purpose is to nurture a properly functioning nervous system. Our brain and nervous system control not only our entire body, but our whole human experience. Maintaining our proper chemical balance, healing, and the ability to stay well are all under the control of our properly functioning nervous system.

Chiropractors locate and correct nervous system disturbance in the human body, by removing subluxation. A subluxation occurs when two bones in the spine misalign and twist or stretch the spinal cord and nerves. The correction given by a chiropractor is a gentle movement to the bones of the head and neck.

Always remember, the body is a natural healer. Rather than give medication to block and suppress any illness with a chance of pushing it further into the body, allow your child’s body to heal naturally by maintaining a healthy diet, receiving chiropractic care, and continuing to research alternatives to medicine. As parents, we must teach our children not to rely on medications every time a pain, illness, or sickness makes its way to the surface.

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Have your child's nervous system scan at Johns Creek Wellness Center

Kids can get checked, too. Do kids need regular blood pressure check-ups or regular tests of their blood glucose levels? Probably not – these simple procedures can be done during a child’s annual physical. But kids are very active and more frequent chiropractic check-ups are usually a good idea. Most of us were introduced to chiropractic care when we were adults – and we had to play catch-up for however long a period of time before we really began to feel healthy again. If we began chiropractic care as a younger adult, it probably didn’t take too long to restore good health. If we were older – well, the process probably took more time.

If chiropractic care is valuable for you, imagine how valuable it is for your children. Kids are natural explorers – they run, jump, climb things, fall down, and bounce around. 1 And, kids are resilient – this ability to recover quickly is one of the great benefits of being very young. Occasionally, one of these activity-related injuries impacts a child’s spine. Nothing obvious has happened and nothing hurts. But there may be subtle injuries to spinal muscles and spinal ligaments that have a long-term effect on spinal nerve function.2,3

Spinal nerve function depends on mechanical integrity of the spine itself. If spinal muscles and ligaments are inflamed or irritated, spinal nerve function is compromised to a greater or lesser extent. In a child, the short- and long-term results may include muscle pain and stiffness, loss of full range of motion in the neck or lower back, frequent colds, headaches, gastrointestinal problems, allergies, and asthma. Of course, when it comes to good health for you and your family, preventing a problem is much easier than treating a problem. In the long run, prevention also costs much less. We all want our kids to be healthy and well. We want them to play full-out, to engage in all kinds of sports, and to have a lot of fun. In order for children to continue to enjoy optimal health, regular spinal check-ups are as important as an annual physical exam. Your local chiropractor is the spinal health expert in your community. She will be glad to help you ensure your child’s continued good health.

1Barkley JE, et al: Reinforcing value of interval and continuous physical activities in children. Physiol Behav April 16, 2009

2Fecteau D, et al: The effect of concentrating periods of physical activity on the risk of injury in organized sports in a pediatric population. Clin J Sport Med 18(5):410-414, 2008

3Spinks AB, McClure RJ: Quantifying the risk of sports injury: a systematic review of activity-specific rates for children under 16 years of age. Br J Sports Med 41(9):548-557, 2007

If you have a headache, you’re not alone. Nine out of ten Americans suffer from headaches. Some are occasional, some frequent, some are dull and throbbing, and some cause debilitating pain and nausea.

What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache? Do you grit your teeth and carry on? Lie down? Pop a pill and hope the pain goes away? There is a better alternative.

Research shows that spinal manipulation – the primary form of care provided by doctors of chiropractic – may be an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck.

A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke University Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than a commonly prescribed medication.

Also, a 1995 study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that spinal manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for tension headaches and that those who ceased chiropractic treatment after four weeks experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in contrast with those patients who received a commonly prescribed medication.

Headache Triggers

But to get to the bottom of the problem, you first need to find out what is causing your pain. Headaches have many causes, or “triggers.” These may include foods, environmental stimuli (noises, lights, stress, etc.) and/or behaviors (insomnia, excessive exercise, blood sugar changes, etc.). About 5 percent of all headaches are warning signals caused by physical problems.

Ninety-five percent of headaches are primary headaches, such as tension, migraine, or cluster headaches. These types of headaches are not caused by disease. The headache itself is the primary concern.

What Can You Do?

If you spend a large amount of time in one fixed position, such as in front of a computer, on a sewing machine, typing or reading, take a break and stretch every 30 minutes to one hour. The stretches should take your head and neck through a comfortable range of motion.

Low-impact exercise may help relieve the pain associated with primary headaches. However, if you are prone to dull, throbbing headaches, avoid heavy exercise. Engage in such activities as walking and low-impact aerobics.

Avoid teeth clenching. The upper teeth should never touch the lowers, except when swallowing. This results in stress at the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) – the two joints that connect your jaw to your skull – leading to TMJ irritation and a form of tension headaches.

Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to help avoid dehydration, which can lead to headaches.

In addition, the ACA and its Council on Nutrition suggest you avoid the following food “triggers”:

Avoid caffeine. Foods such as chocolate, coffee, sodas and cocoa contain high levels of the stimulant.

Avoid foods with a high salt or sugar content. These foods may cause migraines, resulting in sensitivity to light, noise, or abrupt movements.

Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages. These drinks can dehydrate you and cause headache pain.

Other headache sufferers may want to avoid not only caffeine, but also high-protein foods, dairy products, red meat and salty foods.

What Can a Doctor of Chiropractic Do?

Chiropractors may do one or more of the following if you suffer from a primary headache:

Perform spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments to improve spinal function and alleviate the stress on your system.

Provide nutritional advice, recommending a change in diet and perhaps the addition of B complex vitamins.

Offer advice on posture, ergonomics (work postures), exercises and relaxation techniques. This advice should help to relieve the recurring joint irritation and tension in the muscles of the neck and upper back.

Doctors of chiropractic undergo extensive training to help their patients in many ways – not just back pain.

If your headache is symptomatic of a health problem that needs the care of another discipline, your doctor of chiropractic will refer you to an appropriate specialist.

kids are under tremendous pressure to perform well in school. Every year they’re required to take more and more standardized tests, and every year they fall further behind children around the world, particularly in science and mathematics. More is required to do well in school beyond sitting in the classroom and managing to stay awake throughout the day.

Kids by nature want to learn, but somehow this love of new knowledge and new experiences is sucked out of them early on. Teachers no longer teach to broaden the skills and abilities of their students. Instead they teach to the standardized tests. There’s no longer much room for exploring new territory, and kids get bored easily and stay bored if they’re not challenged.

How can we help our children when the educational system is not providing much help? Making sure our kids are healthy and well is a very good start. One of the most interesting developments in cognitive science (how people learn) in the last ten years is the importance of physical activity in relation to human performance. 1,2,3 The results are in – research proves that physical activity is highly correlated to learning and academic achievement. Active kids are explorers. Active kids are alert and interested in what’s going on around them. Active kids have an instinctive desire to grow and develop.

What kinds of exercise should our kids be doing? The great news is that the specific type of exercise doesn’t matter. It’s all good, whether a kid is playing soccer, running track, or riding around the neighborhood on her bike. It’s the amount of exercise that counts, not the format of the exercise. Federal agencies recommend that every child get an hour of physical activity each day. This hour can be broken up into small segments or done all at once. What matters is the amount and consistency of the exercise.

Chiropractic care can play a big role in a child’s development. Periodic chiropractic treatment can improve the functioning of a child’s musculoskeletal system, and thus help improve their physical performance. And, chiropractic care can help a child recover quickly from activity- and sports-related injuries.

By helping a child continue with fun, enjoyable, and rewarding physical activities, chiropractic care is also helping them improve their academic performance. The result is a much more well-rounded young person, one whose interests may extend from the ball field to the science lab to the music room.

1Hillman CH, et al: The effect of acute treadmill walking on cognitive control and academic achievement in preadolescent chiildren. Neuroscience 159(3):1044-1054, 2009
2Ploughman M: Exercise is brain food. The effects of physical activity on cognitive function. Dev Neurorehabil 11(3):236-240, 2008
3Davis CL, et al: Effects of aerobic exercise on overweight children’s cognitive functioning. Res Q Exerc Sport 78(5):510-519, 2007

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR  NY TIMES

Published: August 13, 2009

Parents may want to lock the medicine cabinet as well as the cabinet under the sink. A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that more than twice as many children are accidentally poisoned with prescription or over-the-counter medicines as with household consumer products.

The researchers estimate that more than 70,000 children under 18 visit emergency rooms yearly suffering from unintentional medication overdoses, compared with about 30,000 for poisonings with other products. Most of the affected children have ingested medicines without their parents’ knowledge, but 8 percent of emergency room visits and 14 percent of hospitalizations were the result of parents accidentally overdosing their offspring. More than 75 percent of the medication overdoses were in children under 5.

Dr. Daniel S. Budnitz, the senior author and an epidemiologist with the C.D.C., said that the study did not count visits to private physicians’ offices or other health care facilities, so the numbers are probably an underestimate.

The study, published in the August issue of The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that the drug most commonly implicated in poisoning was acetaminophen (Tylenol and other brands), with opioid painkillers and benzodiazepine antianxiety drugs close behind.

Dr. Budnitz said that parents should of course keep medications out of the reach of children, but that packaging improvements are also important. “Child safety caps came out in the 1970s and haven’t changed much,” he said. “There are packaging improvements that can be made, and we’re working with manufacturers and other federal agencies to encourage this.

• Frank, I can't walk from p90x. Yoga tomorrow. #
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• What are you doing today to be healthier? I would like to know. #

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In 2009 there’s been lots of conversation about health care, both at the federal and state levels.1-3 Not all the talk has been friendly. Those favoring broad reforms describe serious problems in the health care “system”. Those opposing change have spread rumors about impending “socialized medicine”. Whatever the outcome, chiropractic health care continues to address many of the real shortcomings of the current health care situation in the United States.

First and foremost, chiropractic care focuses on the patient. So much of health care is focused on the profit-taking bottom line. Necessary services are denied coverage and unnecessary services are prescribed, all to further some faceless organization’s return on investment. Chiropractic care has one goal in mind – to help the patient be healthy and get well in the fastest amount of time possible. Other forms of health care talk but chiropractic walks the walk. Chiropractic health care is truly patient-centered.

Chiropractic care is personalized. A patient in a chiropractor’s office feels like part of the family. Chiropractors make the time to talk with their patients, asking the right questions and addressing their concerns. Chiropractic patients don’t feel rushed. They don’t feel as if their doctor’s main priority is getting through this patient visit and moving on to the next. Chiropractic patients have the experience their doctor is very interested in their well-being and has designed treatment that will specifically address their specific problems. Chiropractic care is not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to health care.

The majority of the health care system is notoriously fragmented. Patients are bounced from one specialist to another, as various doctors attempt to diagnose a small part of a complex problem. In contrast, chiropractic care is holistic, addressing many of the health requirements of the whole person. Chiropractic treatment restores balances to the nervous system and musculoskeletal system, addressing multiple problems at once. Also, many chiropractors design rehabilitative exercise protocols and nutritional programs for their patients, as well as provide postural recommendations and stress management techniques.

And, chiropractic care is available to the entire family – toddlers, young people, parents, and grandparents. Chiropractic treatment is safe and gentle, and highly effective for a broad range of conditions. Whether an 80-year-old grandmother has osteoporosis-related lower back pain or an 8-year-old softball player has an injured knee, chiropractic care has good solutions for both.

Chiropractic directly addresses many problems in today’s health care system. Chiropractic is a results-driven, cost-effective method focused on holistic health care. Chiropractic care is an integrated system that effectively promotes a family’s wellness and well-being.

1Relman A: The Health Reform We Need and Are Not Getting. The New York Review of Books, July 2, 2009
2Stolberg SG: Obama to Forge a Greater Role on Health Care. The New York Times, June 6, 2009
3Porter ME: A Strategy for Health Care Reform. Toward a Value-Based System. N Engl J Med 360(24):2610, 2009Strai

(Johns Creek, GA). A study was conducted late last year by doctors at the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic in the United Kingdom to determine if chiropractic care had any benefit for colicky infants. Colic is generally defined as persistent crying, not likely to be soothed by a caring parent, mainly occurring in late afternoon and evening in infants who are well fed and healthy.

“Colic is a condition with no known treatment protocols that have proven to be entirely effective,” said Johns Creek-based Dr. Joe Fanning, D.C. “This study represents an interesting approach that parents with colicky babies may want to try.”

Researchers established criteria for inclusion in the study: infants less than eight weeks old who cried more than three hours for at least four of the previous seven days. The study group was eventually set at 43 children.

“Two methods of chiropractic care were used, both very gentle, non-invasive procedures,” said Dr. Fanning. “Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) was used on 22 of the infants, and occipito-sacral decompression (OSD) on the other 21, all selected at random for each particular care methodology.”

By the 7th day of the short-term trial study, crying was significantly reduced by about 2 hours per day in both groups. By the 14th day of the trial, that reduction in crying was even more pronounced. Four weeks after the completion of the

study, colic had disappeared in 82% of the infants undergoing the SMT care and in 67% of the infants undergoing the OSD care.

“A properly functioning nervous system is just as important in infants as it is in adults,” said Dr. Fanning, who makes a point of encouraging all his adult patients to bring in their children to get checked out. “Stress and other imbalances have an overall effect on our bodies that we in the profession refer to as subluxations,” explains Dr. Fanning, whose chiropractic practice features the Insight Subluxation Station, a technology used by NASA in the space program, to measure nervous system health and performance. “Listen to your body and you can dramatically alter your well-being,” Dr. Fanning continued.

Dr. Fanning added that studies like these give insight into potentially new ways to approach age-old problems of health, but was quick to remark that such studies are just a first step toward further understanding health issues like colic.

Editor’s note:

Anyone wishing more information may contact Dr. Fanning, whose office is located at 4310 Johns Creek Parkway, Suite 100, Suwanee, GA 30024 (telephone 770-623-6880).

Reference:

“Comparison of the short-term effects of chiropractic spinal manipulation and occipito-sacral decompression in the treatment of infant colic: A single-blinded, randomized, comparison Trial,” by Maria Browning and Joyce Miller, Clinical Chiropractic (2008) 11, 122-129.

It’s that time of year again, when children are heading back to school.  This means, parents and kids will head out the door with “school supply lists” in hand to obtain all that is needed for school.  Then there is the task of finding the perfect backpack to carry all of the coveted supplies, to and from school.

I always wanted to have an awesome backpack each year when school started.  It had to be the right style, have a certain amount of pockets, color mattered, and it had to be “cool”.  These were my stipulations as a student when shopping for the perfect backpack, but I never thought about ergonomics.  While I am no longer a student, I can tell you that talking with my adolescent patients, times have not changed; not one of them has said, “Dr. Joe, I want a backpack that properly supports my posture. A backpack that won’t lead to long-term health implications for me due to its poor ergonomic structure.  Can you help me?”  Although, I dream of this day, I’m not sure it is in the future.

Now I will be the first to admit that I believe in self-expression, it is extremely important; but I also believe in wise decisions.  There is a healthy balance between fashion and function.  Teamwork is key! So, moms and dads, read carefully to help your child find the appropriate backpack of their dreams, one that looks great and is ergonomic!

I’m sure you are wondering what is so significant about something as simple as a backpack? While there has been no significant research on long-term, negative effects; most healthcare officials agree that excessive weight and certain bag styles can cause nerve pressure around the neck that could lead to muscle spasms, neck pain, or shoulder pain. In 2006, The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 7,300 injuries were treated in U.S. Emergency rooms because of backpacks.

In today’s society, kids are carrying excessive weight in their backpacks.  Children should not carry more than 15% of their bodyweight, with 10% being the preferred amount.  So a 100lb child should not carry more than 10-15lbs in their backpack.  It’s important that parents be proactive, helping their children load their backpack, so that it is not “overloaded”.  They should also routinely look through their child’s backpack to help eliminate any accumulated clutter.

Weight of the backpack is not the only issue that needs to be observed when shopping for the “perfect backpack”.  The American Chiropractic Society (ACA) has a checklist that they recommend parents ask the following questions when choosing the best possible backpack:

•    Is the backpack the appropriate size for your child? The backpack should be comparable in size to the child’s torso (heighth and width), not extending more than four inches below the waistline.  A backpack that hangs too low will increase the amount of weight on the child’s shoulders, causing your child to lean forward to even out the weight distribution.  Also, the bigger the backpack the more room for stuff!

•    Does the backpack have two wide, padded shoulder straps? The padding is merely a comfort addition, stopping the straps from digging into your child’s shoulders. Two straps are better than one, two straps allow for distribution of weight on both shoulders.  Backpacks with only one-strap/messenger bags cause a disproportionate shift of weight to one side that causes neck musculature to spasm, neck pain, and low back pain.

•   Are the shoulder straps adjustable? Adjustable straps allow the backpack to be properly fitted to your child’s body.  A backpack that is too loose causes the backpack to dangle leading to discomfort and spinal misalignments.

•    Does the backpack have a padded back? A padded back increases comfort and protects sharp objects (pencils, rulers, book corners, etc) from poking your child.

•    Does the backpack have multiple compartments? Multiple compartments will facilitate in even distribution of contents.

It is important to remind your child that they don’t need to carry everything in their backpack at one time.  On days when the backpack is more full make sure to place the heaviest items in the rear of the backpack and to carefully position items with sharp edges.  Also, periodically remind your child to let you know if their backpack is causing any discomfort.  If the pain becomes persistent, then seek care from a healthcare professional, such as a doctor of chiropractic.

Parents who use the above checklist should make backpack shopping a little less stressful this year.  Now just to find one that meets all the aforementioned criteria and is still “cool” may be tricky, but definitely worth it! Want to be reassured? Johns Creek Wellness Center will be providing complimentary back to school spinal check-ups to help educate students and parents on proper backpack ergonomics and how to best use your backpack! Simply call the office at 770.623.6880 and make an appointment now through October 1, 2009.  And don’t forget to bring your backpack!!!